I finally finished the smaller version of the Lotus Butterfly pendant. In a way that seems appropriate for a butterfly design (metamorphosis and all), I carved the smaller one from the large one. I just took half of a wing, and altered it from there. That saved me quite a bit of time. I have them finished in charms and links in a bunch of colors, and have them photographed, but its too late tonight to edit and do any listing. Soon, though!

In other major change news, over the weekend, we tackled a very difficult task of cleaning a very messy room of the house... the storage room in the basement. This little room was the catch-all for everything that I couldn't store upstairs. And it was scary. I couldn't even walk into the room anymore, it was just piled with stuff. Most of the items are display and packaging supplies... things I only need once and a while. After a show, I would usually just toss them into the room. It also was filled with a lot of my old ceramic work, much of which I have disposed of over the weekend. It was a very cleansing thing to do, and I was dragging my feet and being crabby about it, but Alex helped me and organized everything and encouraged me when I got overwhelmed. Now there is space to spare! I don't have a before picture (way too scary) but here is the after picture.

Next up in the great studio cleaning will be the craft closet in my bead room. But now that there is some space in the basement room, with an area for more shelving, I will have space to store the closet stuff! There are almost no more embarrassing and scary places in my house anymore! yay!

I promised yesterday that I would show the prize for one random winner who enters the Art Bead Scene November Challenge using an Earthenwood bead or component. Here it is! It is a selection of four of my newest beads, all in a pretty peacock color. The small Dragonfly Rising link is about an inch round. I love this new design and can't wait to do some beading with them! I also made a smaller version of the scarab, and made that a link too. I think it will make a cute bracelet, or a necklace with a little charm dangle. And this is the first time I have shown the new Heartkey and Heartlock pendants, which I really adore. I think they would be fun for a pair of friends, with one of each of them getting one and making matching friendship necklaces!

Tonight, I edited all my pictures and listed a bunch of new Dragonfly Rising pendants on Etsy, both small and large. I also listed the Spiralling Mayfly pendants. Whew that was a lot of work. I have pics of the new hearts to list next, but I am starting to fall asleep at the keyboard here!

All this hard work is leading up to my upcoming newsletter. I have my annual big sale planned, so I hope you will sign up for the newsletter to get the news! I only sent one or two emails a month, so it is a good way to keep up with me. To sign up, you can use the form on the homepage of my website.

I hope you had a happy Halloween! I had a great time! Today is part of the celebration of the Day of the Dead! I figured in the spirit of the weekend celebrations, I would show the tiny sugar skull charm pair that I made for a special order. There is one pair left, in the Etsy shop, if you want them. I think they would make an adorable pair of earrings.

I also listed some of the new Dragonflies and Scarabs if you have been waiting for those. I have more to photograph, plus some new butterflies that I am in love with! My kiln with the first batch of butterflies overfired, so the glazes look really different, but they are still really neat and I will photograph them and list them this week.

Whew! It's November now! This is probably going to be my busiest month of the year, but I am ready to take it on! Let's start with this week's Extra Links:

A Bead A Day
Looking for a great way to commemorate a special moment or gift? Design a piece of jewelry!

About.com Jewelry Making
It's like Wal-Mart, only you want to be there in this virutal tour of Shipwreck Beads.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene is having a book fair. Read up on your favorites!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has finally discovered how great polymer clay is.

Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva
Not thinking about your holiday gift list yet? Cindy helps get you started with a Knot Ready for Prime Time Lucky Knots and Friends Projects so you can get started now!

Jean Campbell
Jean celebrates her favorite holiday by showing off her costume and some very cool baubles

Jewelry & Beading
Krystal Backer, beading artist, shares her creative inspirations with Cyndi.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Have you been following Lorelei's Necklace Round Robin? Come take a look at the finished pieces!

Snap Out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews a delightful book by the editor of BeadStyle: Cathy Jakicic

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off her favorite necklace created for Cynthia Thornton's Enchanted Adornments and winner in the metal clay category of the British Bead Awards

Ok, I think I am done with being all super secret about the new project I have been working on! Alex (drummermc ) and I started a little side business based on some cool items we found at a video store that was going out of business. We are recycling DVD backer cards into really neat jewelry! We have called the business Now Showing Studio, and have set up a new Etsy shop and a blog and have been working hard to get some pieces designed and listed in the shop. There will be many more to come, and I will blog about it occassionally here on the Earthenwood blog, but please go and bookmark the new sites, because the news will go up there first! Help spread the word if you like what you see...

Thanks also to Skennedy, (atdt1991 ) who made the graphics for Now Showing!

Oh, and I set up an LJ feed for the Now Showing blog, but LJ seems to be wonky and is not updating feeds properly (according to the LJ known issues).  Feel free to add it to your reading list, and let's cross our fingers that I did it right.
 

Hey! It has been a couple of days since I last blogged. I have been busy working on clay work for several orders, which I finished this afternoon (at least the wet work is done). I also appear to have caught a little cold, so I have been resting and watching movies and doing clay while working on the still secret new idea! I am totally re-energized with this, and I can't wait to show you! But first I need some help with research.

I have recently become very interested in film and movies. Not that it didn't interest me before... I like movies, of course. But I have recently begun to really think about them and how much they add to our lives. I have also been looking at film and movie theatre imagery and movie poster artwork, and have been feeling the romanticism of the cinema throughout time. It is a fun new source of inspiration for me!

I wanted to ask all of you who love movies for some help with finding links to good film sites. Blogs about movies, review sites, that sort of thing... share with me your favorites! This info will help me with part of the new project, which I promise to tell you about next week. Thanks in advance!

The image above is a filmstrip stamp that I ordered from Simon Says Stamps, which will work its way into some of the packaging and display for the new project. It's a Tim Holtz design... wow I love that guy! I got a few of his stamps and supplies, which is really great stuff.

Well, I have been trying to blog all week, but it has just been too busy! I have a bead show tomorrow... The Bead Bonanza! I realized a couple of weeks ago that I would not be able to restock or have my new work done in time for the show, so I ended up cleaning out the studio and I am having a giant sale! I unearthed some beads I made a LONG time ago, some are almost 10 years old. It is kind of neat to see the old pieces, and to see where I have been and where I am going, artistically speaking. I think some of the themes repeat over and over through the years in different ways, which is really neat.

While I have been working on all the cleaning, I have been chipping away at some new work. (heh, literally chipping sometimes...I have been trying new things and have had some breakage, which is frustrating). I am super excited about the new pieces that are coming out! Unfortunately I was just a little too slow, and I won't have these new things to show this weekend. You can see a peek at the wet pieces that I just finished yesterday in the picture above. But I will have them done soon, and will be making a big deal about them in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, that's what has been happening here. Time to finish getting ready for the show, and if you are in the Metro Detroit area tomorrow, I hope you stop by the Bead Bonanza and say hello!

I am moving along with the new designs! I spent a couple of hours yesterday sketching and researching, and I am really happy with this new dragonfly design (the bottom one). I can't wait to start carving it! It was too late last night, and I knew I would never sleep if I started, so instead I worked on yet another variation of the scarab carving I did a few months ago. This one has a background that is more interactive with the scarab itself, with a sort of Egyptian/Art Deco sort of feeling to it. I want this series of insects and wildlife carvings to reference historical art styles. Hopefully the historical inspiration will tie the series together and make them interesting.

Another bit of inspiration has been entertaining me lately, the work of nineteenth century scientist/biologist/illustrator/artist Ernst Haeckel. I discovered his work Art Forms in Nature when I was in college, and it had a big influence on my work then. I recently rediscovered his work because I found a documentary about him called Proteus. I had originally fallen in love with his illustrations on a purely aesthetic level, but this documentary taught me more about his life and influence on the world of science. He is a rather controversial figure, it seems, because of his ideas and works having to do with evolution. It's fascinating stuff! But mostly I love to look at his gorgeous drawings of Radiolaria and other sea creatures. Here is a short video with images of his work that I would like to share with you:
 

And one more thing! Thanks to atdt1991 for my new banners for the blog and the Etsy shop! They look awesome!

I am very happy to say that I finally just dug in and started (and finished) a new carving! I have been wanting to do a dragonfly for a while, to replace a charm design that I used to make that was a really good seller. That old design was cast from a vintage button, and while it is beautiful, it wasn't an original design. So when I discontinued it, I decided to make my own version, with my own imagery. This is what came out last night and this morning. I didn't sketch it first, I just started carving the clay while looking at several pictures of dragonflies. Perhaps next time I will start with a sketch.

I like it alright, but I want to do another one. This feels a little stiff to me, and I want to have a more art nouveau feel to it, so I am going to start a new one. This one has too many roundy spiral things for what I was going for. But since I am working on a new molding technique, I think this one will start the experimentation. Also, I have another line that I want to start carving that will have a lot of roundy spirals, so I think this was good practice.

I am never sure if I should post these experiments and process pieces that I am unsure about. I am not posting and questioning the design to fish for compliments or to have my ego boosted. This is just my process, and I like to share it, even when I am not entirely sure of the direction. Anyway, I have had to little to blog about lately, I am excited to at least have the start of something new.

And now that I have started something and have a direction to go, I am motivated to work on more things. Carving is very addictive to me, once I start, I want to do more and more. I just love working in porcelain!

I have gotten some work done in the past couple of days, along with having some fun. I spent some time over Labor Day weekend taking some pictures of bead accent pairs and sets for the Etsy shop, and got them listed there. So if you are looking for small accent beads to go with my charms, you can find them there, as they are no longer available on my website. They are the perfect size for bracelets and earrings!

I am sort of cleaning things up a bit before moving onto new stuff. I think part of that was procrastinating, not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. Part of it is just dealing with the messes though, too. Today, I am working on cleaning out my computer desk, because my PC sorta exploded (and I lost a whole lot of information...poo). I think I am going to move my beading area back into that room, maybe put up some storage shelves, so I can work in there again. I don't like when my craft stuff takes over my living space, and it has taken up permanent residence in the dining room, so I hope to change that.

I started sketching my new ideas, and have been trying to figure out how I want to make them, technique wise. There are ways that I could do it that are easier and faster, but I do not enjoy them, and lose interest quickly. The techniques I prefer, carving porcelain in particular, take much more time, but I will stick to those designs more because they have more of my heart and hand in them. But the problem is in the molding, which I haven't found a good solution for myself. But now that I have an amazing mold making expert (my brother) living with me, I think I am going to try something new... something he is confident will work for me. So onward with the carving! I hope once I start that I will get really addicted to it and will continue making new pieces in a frenzied manner. It's just a matter of making that first tool mark.

As I mentioned yesterday, I had some fun experimenting with fire and metal. I am trying to spend a little time each day working on new ideas and materials, to keep me sane from all the production work I have been doing. The pictures here are works in progress, the results of just playing with the materials, and they are certainly not finished pieces at all. They might be made into finished pieces at some point, but now they are just pieces of information. What happens when I do *this* to *that*. In the top picture, various enamels and glass chunks melted to copper blanks from Rings & Things. In the middle, more of the same, and some lovely "heat painted" copper that will soon find their way into resin pendants. And the last picture is a grouping of heat painted brass pendants too. Overall, some good information here, and some parts that will go on to become other things.

I listened to a podcast at Crafty Pod the other day... an interview with Ryan Mc Abery, who is a top selling Etsy seller who recently downsized. Sometimes, success can be difficult, especially for a very small business, and particularly when it has to do with a creative product and process. I really related to this interview. Not that I am a top Etsy seller or a single mom, or any of the other specifics that Mc Acbery mentions about her life, but I really related to her thoughts about over-working and burning out. She had the courage to make a major change in her business, because she needed to change her life, and I was very impressed with her story. I have had major life changes recently too, and have been dealing with them very well. But I have been feeling like my business needs to change too, and I am ready to start doing it, so I can make the other changes I want to make in my life.

In fact, I have felt like this for a long time, but haven't had the courage or the energy to do it. Or maybe I haven't really known how to do it... that's part of it too. It is extremely hard to make changes to my product line and discontinue things and to have customers routinely come to me asking for old work. I have had a lot of press over the past 5 years, and that press keeps people coming back looking for the pieces that were published. It is very hard to say no, and in this economy, its a little crazy to turn down work. But it continues a cycle that prevents me from growing and leads me closer to burn out. That is part of what these recent experiments and playing with new materials is all about... switching gears so I can start to think differently and be creative again. I need to be firm about needing to do these things and not giving in to making old work over and over again. Because I want to keep working, and I want to make exciting new work. So I am continuing to move along, and I thank you all for your support and encouragement...

This morning, before it got too hot out, I went outside to play with fire! I started with the rather monotonous work of annealing all the Vintaj brass disc pendants that I had, as I plan to dome them all for making Collage pendants. I love working with fire and metal. It's very relaxing to hear the hiss of the torch, and to watch the metal changing color as it gets hot. There is a beautiful display of rapidly morphing rainbows that occur as the torch moves over each piece. Sadly, it is only momentary, and the color doesn't usually stay, but it is wonderful to watch.

I also love the hiss of the water as the hot metal pieces are quenched. Sometimes new patterns develop in the metal at that point, too. Some of the new patterns and colors will stay a part of the metal, and I can use them for inspiration when I am working on a collage. But mostly, I am doing the heating and quenching just to anneal them so the metal is softer and the hammering is easier.
After the annealing, I spent some time playing with more fire, this time just for the coloration and special effects on the metal. I started with these long raw brass pendants from Rings & Things. I got some lovely color on them! They are very bright and brassy out of the package, so the heat makes them at least blackened, and sometimes a more coppery brassy color with a bit of color and variation. After all of this, I played a little with the copper blanks I have been wanting to use from Rings and Things. I also found a box of enamel and glass chunks, and I really enjoyed melting the bits of glass and powders onto the copper. I will show pictures of these next time!

I recently got a sampler set of Shino glazes that I have been wanting to try! For the ceramic purists out there, these are not *really* real shino, since I am firing in an electric kiln, with no reduction, or potential for carbon trapping, blah blah blah. But, they look like shino, and there were some really great glazes in this sampler! I am impressed. My favorites are in the picture on top, with the ones I like somewhat less in the picture on bottom. All are on my white porcelain bead body, and I just glazed a variety of leftover bisque that I had sitting around. I think I will retest all of them on the same form, perhaps something a bit more appropriate. A voluptuous form of some sort seems to be a good choice for shino, for some reason. I would also like to test the whole series on a clay body with some iron in it, like my tile glaze. I think it would be fun to make some stoneware beads for a change! What do you think of these glazes?

Here are two more of the new resin collage pendants. I really love these. They are made from oval blanks from Vintaj that I domed, one with a key and one with a lock. Both have a paper leaf behind the brass charm, and they are filled in with clear resin. I kind of like the idea of a pair of lovers or two friends wearing these necklaces, sort of like those best friend charms, but a little more subtle and grown up.

So I have been working on my big order still, and the end is sort of in sight, finally. AND I wrote and sent off two projects for a super secret project that I needed to finish by the end of the month. I have been swamped with deadline after deadline lately. It's not bad, it just gets a little tiring when it is all at once. I was glad to have the resin playtime, but when I get in production mode and need to work, but am wanting to play more, I tend to get myself into a little bit of shopping trouble. So I have an order from Rings and Things and ArtBeads on the way (and already received my FusionBeads and Vintaj orders, hehe), as well as a really cool find from a rubber stamp store that I will blog about when I get the shipment. When I get a day or two to play... look out! I will have the supplies at hand and the ideas are bursting out, so I will have a bunch of new stuff to share! For now, though, I have to hold on and finish these loose ends...

I had a great time over the last few days! I went to South Haven to see Heather of Humblebeads and Rosanne of Fab Fibers. I had hoped to spend some time squishing my toes in the sand on the beach, and finally wear my new bathing suit, but it was oddly cold on Friday! It felt like autumn, actually. So we stayed in, and spent the whole day playing with bits of metal and paper and little odd bits of stuff, collaging them into pendants. At the end of the play session, we filled them with clear Ice Resin. It was fun to play with new things, and above is a sneak peek of some of the pendants I made. There are a lot more, and I am working on photographing them. Whew! Really reflective stuff... hard to get good pics of them. They are really fun, though... I can't wait to do more. I returned from my trip, and spent the day at home cleaning up the house, which I feel like I haven't spent a lot of time in lately, and nursing a bellyache. I am feeling better now, but am going to turn in early tonight, hoping to get some rest. Before I go, here are this week's Extra links!

Me and my roomie have been working SO hard lately, getting so much done to make the house and studio better! Its really amazing how much can be done with some motivation and hard work. I can't believe it's only been a week, and so much has changed around here! We got rid of a bunch of old junk over the weekend, and today, took a trip out to Ikea for a shopping spree and got some new stuff to take its place. Mostly kitchen stuff, as the work in there will continue and hopefully be finished soon. Whee!

Otherwise, I have been grinding away at the big orders I am working on. I sanded 360 Steam Stones tonight! woo hoo! I love seeing these big piles of beads. But I have a lot more to work on, so I better get back to it...

I listed four new Openwork Esutcheons in the Earthenwood Etsy shop. These have the Toolbox Treasure textures on them, and they were really fun to make. They were very popular at the Bead & Button show, and I only have a few left right now, all up on Etsy

Whew! Getting a lot of stuff done around the home and studio lately. It's awesome but very tiring! I have a big order to work some more this weekend, but I took some time out today to photograph and list the rest of the large Toolbox Treasure pendants in the Earthenwood Etsy shop. They seem to be very popular and I thank you all for your positive comments about them, and for your purchases. Gotta run now and get myself settled in for some bead making tonight. Have a great weekend, all!